A happy man (File)

Pretoria - The Bulls pre-season camp in George has been dubbed “a success” and their former coach Heyneke Meyer believes the hard work put in before Christmas will equip the defending Super 14 champions with an edge when it comes to defending their title next year.

Meyer recently returned to the Bulls fold with a more hands-on developmental role as Executive: Rugby Coaching for the franchise and was on hand over the past two weeks in George when the team sweated it out for three training sessions a day in their pre-season camp.

Considering he started the camps when he still was head coach at the Bulls, Meyer is undoubtedly qualified to assess the impact that it will have on a season that will give the Bulls a tougher challenge than winning the Super 14 - defending their title.

And while he is not intimately involved with coaching the side anymore, his expertise are being well-used by head coach Frans Ludeke to add a bit of extra magic whenever necessary.

Meyer saw a number of positives while with the Bulls at their camp, which ends on Friday.

“It’s been great being here. The players have had a lot of very good planning sessions in their time here at George and you can see they are very motivated to achieve the same sort of success that they did last year,” Meyer told SuperSport.com

“There is an edge to everything they do. One of the most pleasing things is that there are usually a number of niggling injuries in the camp at this time of year and that is not the case this time around. The Springboks who joined the guys here are also very positive and it makes a big difference.

“They are the guys who need to lead from the front and this year we had a lot of players on the end of the year tour and there are a few that are out with injury, so a lot will depend on how they recover.” With a tough Super 14 ahead of them, the Bulls will need to bring at least a dozen Springboks back into the side and ensure that fitness levels are the same across the board. This, Meyer believes, is the biggest challenge for the defending champions, especially when other franchises have had the luxury of rest in the off-season.

In this there is only one factor that can give the Bulls the edge they need -- conditioning. “The biggest challenge for the Super 14 -- which a number of South African sides still don’t get right -- is conditioning. The challenge is there for the Bulls, who had the most Springbok players on the Bok tour, to get that right,” he explained.

“There isn’t time in the Super 14 to condition because the games are too tough. And now, with the season starting earlier and earlier, you have basically six weeks before you start playing your games. If you don’t work at this in the off-season, then you don’t have a chance.

“The idea was always to take the guys and their families away from Loftus and let them train in a new environment. With three training sessions a day, it is flippin’ tough. If you can get through a camp like this without any injuries, then you have a big advantage over the rest of the South African teams.

“The biggest challenge for the Bulls will be the re-integration of their Springboks into the side, especially because so many of them were on the Springbok tour. The nice aspect is that so many of them are so keen to play for the Bulls as soon as possible. They are so proud to be associated with this team that you know they will be fit when the season starts.”

Meyer sees himself very much in the background during the coming Super 14 season, but will pop into the team sessions whenever he is needed.

“I’ve been very grateful to the way that Frans has used me so far. He brings me in when he feels he needs me. From the beginning I always said I’d like to stand back and to observe from the start and take a look at the systems and see where you can make suggestions,” Meyer told SuperSport.com

“For me it is a privilege to be allowed back and to work with these guys. Still, I believe my best role at this camp is to stand back a bit and to observe. What I’ve seen so far I’ve been impressed with.”